Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Abigail Nicholson

Police checking if gun in cemetery is linked to Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Ashley Dale or Sam Rimmer killings

Police are continuing to examine a semi-automatic handgun found in a graveyard to see if it is linked to three killings.

Hundreds of graves were cordoned off and forensic investigators conducted a painstaking examination of the site after the weapon was found on Tuesday, October 19. Officers found the gun along with a number of bullets, and a clip in a Nike bag.

The force says it is in the process of forensically examine the weapon and work will be ongoing to check if it linked to the August murders of Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale or Olivia Pratt-Korbel.

READ MORE: Man airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after motorbike crash

Merseyside Police released pictures of the weapon, which does not appear to match the .38 revolver which, according to detectives, fired the fatal shot at nine-year-old Olivia on Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, on August 22. However the killer in that case was also carrying a second handgun, used to shoot at his intended target Joseph Nee, which was described by police as a self-loading 9mm Glock handgun.

Police have not publicly revealed the type of firearms used to shoot 28-year-old Miss Dale on Leinster Road, Old Swan, or 22-year-old Mr Rimmer on Lavrock Bank, Dingle. Police can link firearms to previous shootings by examining markings on any bullet fragments recovered from the scene.

A handgun found at West Derby Cemetery (Merseyside Police)

Merseyside Police regularly works with the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) to identify guns used in criminal shootings.

Detective Inspector John Mullen from the Firearms Investigations Team, said: “Every weapon we seize makes our communities safer, and this gun was stored with ammunition, which could have been used to cause serious harm. We will now conduct forensic work to establish if this is a weapon which has been used before and who has had it in their possession.

"If you have any information on this or other weapons, do the right thing and come forward immediately, as what you know could remove dangerous people and their weapons from the streets of Merseyside."

Charity Crimestoppers has offered a record £200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Olivia's killer.

Thomas Cashman, 34, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, is accused of her murder and is due to stand trial in March.

READ MORE: Man airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after motorbike crash

READ NEXT:

First picture of gun found stashed in Nike bag next to gravestones

Keir Starmer destroys Liz Truss with brutal first question

Thug threatened to 'burn girlfriend's face with a barbeque' on camping trip

Urgent warning over gang targeting elderly shoppers at Aldi and Lidl

Man offered a place to stay was sexually assaulted as he slept

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.